Tibetan culture
Tibet developed a distinct culture due to its geographic and climatic conditions. While influenced by neighboring cultures from China, India, and Nepal, the Himalayan region's remoteness and inaccessibility have preserved distinct local influences, and stimulated the development of its distinct culture.
Tibetan Buddhism has exerted a particularly strong influence on Tibetan culture since its introduction in the seventh century. Buddhist missionaries who came mainly from India, Nepal and China introduced arts and customs from India and China. Art, literature, and music all contain elements of the prevailing Buddhist beliefs, and Buddhism itself has adopted a unique form in Tibet, influenced by the Bön tradition and other local beliefs.
Several works on astronomy, astrology and medicine were translated from Sanskrit and Classical Chinese. The general appliances of civilization have come from China, among many things and skill imported were the making of butter, cheese, barley-beer, pottery, watermills and the national beverage, butter tea.
Tibet's specific geographic and climatic conditions have encouraged reliance on pastoralism, as well as the development of a different cuisine from surrounding regions, which fits the needs of the human body in these high altitudes.
Buddha statue
Fresco
Fresco
Pillar design
Elderly pilgrim
Young girl
A Tibetan young girl wearing a fur hat
Tibetan woman praying
Tibetans tend to be conservative in their dress, and though some have taken to wearing Western clothes, traditional styles still abound. Women wear dark-colored wrap dresses over a blouse, and a colorfully striped, woven wool apron, called pangden signals that she is married. Men and women both wear long sleeves even in summer months.
In his 1955 book, Tibetan Marches, André Migot describes Tibetan clothing as follows:
A chab chab is a piece of jewellery which wealthy Tibetan ladies attached to their clothes beneath the right shoulder.
The Cuisine of Tibet is quite distinct from that of its neighbours. Tibetan crops must be able to grow at high altitudes, although a few areas in Tibet are low enough to grow such crops as rice, oranges, lemon and bananas.[10] The most important crop in Tibet is barley. Flour milled from roasted barley, called tsampa, is the staple food of Tibet. It is eaten mostly mixed with the national beverage, the butter tea. Butter tea perfectly fits the needs of the human body in these high altitudes as it contains butter (protein and fat), milk (protein, fat and calcium), salt and tea. Tibetan cuisine contains a wide variety of dishes. The most famous are Momos (Tibetan dumplings). Balep is Tibetan bread eaten for breakfast and lunch. There many other types of balep bread and fried pies. Thukpa is noodle soup. It consists of noodles of various shapes, vegetables, and meat in broth. Tibetan cuisine is traditionally served with bamboo chopsticks, in contrast to other Himalayan cuisines which are eaten by hand. Small soup bowls are also used by Tibetans, and the rich are known to have used bowls of gold and silver.[11]
Since only a few crops grow at such high altitudes, many features of Tibetan cuisine are imported, such as tea, rice and others. Meat dishes are likely to be yak, goat, or mutton, often dried, or cooked into a spicy stew with potatoes. Tibetans would never eat dogs and fish only in special cases as dogs are regarded as domestic animals and also guard dogs, and fishes are one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism.
Mustard seed is cultivated in Tibet, and therefore features strongly in its cuisine. Yak yogurt, butter and cheese are frequently eaten, and well-prepared yogurt is considered something of a prestige item.
In larger Tibetan towns and cities many restaurants nowadays serve Sichuan-style Chinese food. Western imports and fusion dishes, such as fried yak and chips, are also popular. Nevertheless, many small restaurants serving traditional Tibetan dishes persist in both cities and the countryside.
Jasmine tea and yak butter tea are drunk. Alcoholic beverages include:
A musician at The Tibetan Culture Festival.
A musician
Sho dun (Shotun) festival
Tibetan festivals such as Losar, Shoton, the Bathing Festival and many more are deeply rooted in indigenous religion, and also contain foreign influences. Tibetan festivals are a high source of entertainment and can include many sports such as yak racing. Tibetans consider festivals as an integral part of their life and almost everyone participates in the festivities.
Tibetan pet having a bath
Horse Racing in Tibet
Yaks
Sheep
